Printing machine for cinematograph films



Spt. 27, 1932. P. J. GUER'IN 1,880,087

PRINTING MACHINE FOR CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS Filed May 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l fwwfgumm dbtouwgd p 1932- P. J. GUERIN 1,880,087

PRINTING MACHINE FOR CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS Filed May 9, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ww i 2 A Z0 gwuc I {'0 far/My.

Patented Sept. 27, 1932 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL J. GUERIN, 011 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO MACK SENNE'IT COLOR FILM. (70., LTD., OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A COR- PORATION OF CALIFORNIA PRINTING MACHINE FOR CINEMATOGRAPH FILMS Application filed May 9, 1930. Serial No. 451,012.

My invention relates to systems for printing multi-image pictures, and has particular reference to systems for producing multicolored cinematograph films.

In 'the process of manufacturing multicolored pictures, and particularly multicolored pictures for cinematograph work, it is the practice to print upon a positive film, image-s from separate negatives registering complementary colors, the images being superimposed upon each other so that all of the colors blend to cause a reproduction in natural colors of the image photographed.

The primary obstacle to the successful reproductionof images in their natural colors is that of securing the accurate registration of the outlines of the separate images of the negative films so that the superimposed images upon the positive film register accurately with each other, producing a clean cut reproduction of the image without blur.

Such accurate registration of the images is particularly diflicult in cinematographic work by virtue of the unusually small size of the images dealt with, and the difficulties encountered due to the unequal stretching of the various film stocks used. Moreover, it is difficult to thread the films into the machines which are used for the reproduction of the pictures, such as the printing machines, etc. with the images in accurate alinement, because of the care which must be eXercised in selecting the particular sprocket holes in the film stock which is to be engaged with a particular tooth or pin drive utilized in the. machine. I

Also, when several different images are to be placed upon a single film, either simultaneously in the same machine, or'separately in separate machines, and where the various images must be maintained in definite relation to each other, the difliculty of selecting the particular sprocket openings to be engaged by a drive mechanism in order to determine the accurate positioning of the image upon the film is exceedingly difficult.

It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a device whichwill insure accuracy of alinement of several images to be projected i or printed upon a single film.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device for facilitating the selection of the position in which the films must be placed in the machine in order to accurately determine the position of the image to be projected.

Another object of my invention is to provide a device for fixing the position of an image upon a negative film with reference to some part of the machine which is to,

tive films may be accurately registered with each other in the initial placing of the films in the printing machine, and in which the separate images may be simultaneously projected or printed upon the positive film.

My invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a printing machine for multi-color printing upon a single positive film stock.

Figure 2 is a detailed view of the film gate, light aperture and feeding mechanism illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a detailed plan view, partly in section, of the light sources and light directing devices to be utilized with the printing machine illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 4C is a detailed view, in side elevation, of the film aperture and the driving and alining mechanisms illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 5 is a sectional view, taken on line e@ of Figure 4, showing a film gate in partially open position; and

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of a punch device which may be utilized to determine the relation of the images to the feeding sprocket holes in the film.

Referring to Figure 1, I have illustrated a film printing machine comprising a base or stand 10 which supports a printing structure 11, an upright 12 carrying a plurality of feed reels 13, 14 and 15, and a plurality of winding reels 16, 17 and 18. r

The film printing machine 11 comprises a suitable pair of supporting plates 19 and 20 (the plate 20, being partially broken away to more clearly illustrate the mechanism therebetween), between which are j ournaled a plurality of sprockets for feeding the film into and out of the machine and the drive gearing for driving the various parts of the machine. A driving motor 21 is connected by means of a belt 22, reduction gearing 23 and a plurality of chains 24, 25, 26 and 27, to drive the various devices for feeding the films through the machine, and for operating the winding reels 16, 17 and 18 through the agency of belts 28.

The printing structure 11 comprises a plurality of feed sprockets 29 and 30 for drawing the film from reels 13, 14 and 15 and feeding the same past a housing 31 which contains the intermittent drive mechanism 32, and a light aperture 33, through which the printing light may be projected upon the films. 7

Referring particularly to Figure 2, I have illustrated the housing 31 as comprising a box-like container having a front wall 34 through which driving pins 32 of the drive mechanism are arranged to reciprocate upwardly and downwardly within drive slots 35.

Immediately below the lower end of the drive slots 35 there is arranged a centering or positioning device comprising a pair of pins 36 and 37. The pin 36may be of such size as to completely fill one of the sprocket holes in the film stock to thus insure alineanent of the films both vertically and horizontally and for maintaining the films stationary in a predetermined position with reference to the light aperture 33 during the upward movement of the drive pins 32. The pin 37 is of such size as to completely fill the sprocket hole on the opposite side of the film stock in the vertical direction only, by a slot narrower laterally than the sprocket hole on that side of the film stock to insure vertical alinement but to allow lateral shifting of the films under the influence of pin 36.

The driving and positioning arrangement thus far described is old and well known in motion picture cameras and projectors, in which the drive pins 32 are moved first outwardly to engage the film, then downwardly to move the film downwardly, and then are retracted to disengage the film during the re turn upward movement of the drive pins.

During the retraction ofthe pins and the up- 7 and are again projected to engage the film for the next downward movement, the positioning pms 36 and 37 are Withdrawn to allow free passage of the film under the influence of the drive pins.

A film gate 38 hinged as at 39 to the front wall 34 of the housing 31 is utilized to hold the film in close relation to the driving pins 32 and the light aperture 33. The film gate comprises a frame 40 to which is ournaled a shaft 41 carrying positioning rollers 42 arranged immediately above a pair ofslotted pressers 43 secured to the frame by means of a spring mounting 44. The pressers 43 press the film against the front wall 34 of the housing 31 and are provided with slots 45 therein extending substantially throughout the length of the pressers 43, through which the pins 32,36 and 37 move.

The frame 40 also includes a light aperture 46 surrounded by a raised border 47 which presses the film closely against the light aperture 33. At the lower end of the film gage 38 a solid portion 48 of the frame structure 40 maintains the film into substantially close relation to the housing 31 during the passage of the film away from the light aperture 33. If desired, additional pressers 49 may be secured at the lower end of the film gate.

Immediately below the light aperture 33 I have illustrated an alining pin 50 which is formed integrally with a rod 51 slidable within a tube 52 and normally spring pressed, as by means of spring 53, to an outward position extending considerably beyond the face of the wall 34 but retractable to a position substantially flush with the wall 34 by reason of the engagement of the film gate 38 with the rod 51 when the film gate is in its closed position.

Adjacent the light aperture 33 1 have illustrated a lamp house 54, in which may be lo cated the sources of light to be utilized for the printing operation. These light sources are illustrated as electric lamps 55 and 56, contained within separate compartments 57 and 58 respectively, in the housing 54. The front wall 59 of compartment 57 has therein a suitable light opening 60 through which light from" lamp 55 may be projected.

In front of the light opening 60 I have illustrated a rotatable shutter 61 formed of a disc of opaque material having therein a cut-away portion 62 to provide an. opening through which light may be projected. in alinement with the light opening 60 I have illustrated a tubular light conducting chamber 63, for conducting the light from lamp 55 to one side of the light aperture, 33.

In the arrangement illustrated I have shown the lamp 55 as projecting light at right angles to the aperture 33, and hence a reflecting device such as a prism64 must be utilized to reflect the light to project the same through the light aperture.

A similar light tube 65 is provided for passing light from lamp 56 to the opposite side of the light aperture 33 by means of a reflecting prism 66. Since the light from lamp 56 must pass through the aperture 16 in the film gate 38 provision must be made to allow the film .gate 38 to be opened.

I have arranged the light tube 65 upon a pivot 67 around which the tube '65 may be rotated to withdraw the same from the film gate and allow the gate to be opened. A shutter 68 similar to, the shutter 61, having an opening 69 therein, is provided for con 61 andf68,respectively, are simultaneously alined with the light openings for the lamps 55 and 56, allowing simultaneous passage of light from lamps 55 and 56 to opposite sides of the light aperture 33.

When theprinting machine illustrated is to be used for printing multi-colored pictures, the negative films of complementary colors may be arranged upon feed reels 13 and 15, respectively. For example, the negative film 71 upon which is registered the blue-green images may be arranged upon reel 13, from which it passes over feed sprocket 29 to the printing housing 31. The other negative film 72 hearing the red-orange images maybe mounted upon reel 15, from whence it passes over feed sprocket to the housing 31. i

When the two images from the two nega- U tlves are to be printed 1n superposed re lation upon a single positive film stock, the film stock 73 may be mounted upon reel 14, from which it also passes over feed sprocket 30 to the housing 31 in such relation as to lie between the two negative films 71 and 72. The three films may bethreaded past the film gate upon the drive pins 32, and positioning pins 36 and 37, so that all three films are simultaneously moved in a fixed relation to each other past the light aperture 33.

It will be observed that in order to insure accurate registration of the two images upon the positive film 73, it is essential that the three films be so threaded into the machine as to initially aline the proper images up. the two negative films 71 and 72.

This may be accomplished by means of laboriously inspecting the images and carefully alining them upon engagement thereof with either the drive pins 32 or the position pins 36 and 37.

However, by providing a perforation in each of the negative films having a definite relation to the position of the image upon each of these films with respect to the sprocket holes which are to be engaged by the driving and positioning pins, this careful selection of the images and position of the same may be avoided.

The camera which photographs the images upon the negative films is usually arranged to have its drive mechanism engage that sprocket hole which is adjacent the boundary of one of the images, either the top boundary or the bottom boundary, dependent upon the particular construction of the camera used. Also, the positioning pins in the camera which hold the film stationary during the retraction of the drive pins are so arranged as to engage the next adjacent sprocket hole to that which was engaged by the drive pins, the positioning pins being of such size as to insure the accurate alinement of the two negative films upon which the image is to be photographed.

Hence, by maintaining in the printing ma chine the same relation between the sprocket holes to be engaged by the drive pins as in the camera, the accuracy of registration of the two images on the two films is accomplished.

Referring to Fig. 6, I have illustrated a punch 74, illustrated as of the hand type, which has an anvil 75 thereon to which is secured a pair of projecting pins 76. The pins 76 are arranged to engage and accu rately fill the two sprocket holes located adjacent the upper and lower boundaries of the image on a film, or, in other words, to engage the two sprocket holes at the beginning and end of one frame of the picture. The other arm of the punch 34 carries a punch blade 77 so arranged with reference to the anvil 7 5 that it will punch a perforation in the film at substantially the center of the image thereon, or in any predetermined relation to the sprocket holes engaged by the pins 76.

The size of the perforation made by the punch blade 77 is preferably relatively large and is to be exactly the size of the alining pin located upon the printing machine, so that insertion of the alining pin 50 in the perforation causes accurate alinement of the drive pins 32 and positioning pins 36 and 37 with the selected sprocket holes in the negative film.

In the operation of my device the two negative films 71 and 72, with the positive film 73 therebetween, having been punched may be threaded between the film gate and the housing 31 by inserting the aligning pin 7 50 through the perforations made in all three of the films. The negative films and 71 will, therefore, be inaccurate alinement with each other and engagement of the drive pins 32 and the positioning pins 36 with those sprocket holes and adjacent thereto insures the initial alinement of the several images.

The film gate 38 may then be closed and by reason of the engagement of the frame of the film gate with the rod 51 carrying the alining pin 50, the pin will be retracted to allow free passage of the films upon starting the motor 21 to drive the film.

As the films are moved with an intermittent motion past the light apertures 33, the shutters 61 and 68, controlling the light from lamps 55 and 56, will be so operated as to cause simultaneous projection of light through the negative films 71 and 72, and consequently the simultaneous printing of the negative images upon opposite sides of the positive film stock.

Moreover, the perforations in the positive film will allow this film to be threaded accurately into another machine for the printing of some further image upon the positive film in the event that this is desired, in such further printing accuracy of the alinement of the images already printed upon the positive film and the new image to be placed thereon will be insured by insertion of a similar alining pin 50 in the perforation during the threading operation.

It will, therefore, be observed that I have provided a machine for handling cinematograph films in which the accurate registration of several images to be printed upon a positive film stock may be insured without laborious inspection and adjustment of the film upon threading the same into the machine.

It is to be understood that the embodiment of my invention illustrated and described herein is illustrative only, and I do not desire to be limited to any of the details thereof, except as defined in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a machine for handling cinematograph films, including a light aperture with which the frame of images on the films must register, a film gate therefor for holding the films against the face of the aperture, and driving means for feeding the films past the aperture, having a part thereof arranged to engage a portion of the films having a predetermined relation to the position of the images on the films, of a film having a perforation therein having a predetermined relation to the film portion to be engaged by the driving means, an aligning pin adjacent the aperture having such relation to the driving means that insertion thereof in the perforation insures the accurate positioning of an image with respect to the aperture, and means operable upon closing said gate for removing the pin from the perforations.

2-. In a machine for simultaneously printing images from two negative cinematograph' films upon a positive film in which the images from the two negatives are to be printed upon the positive'in a predetermined relation to each other, a printing aperture through which the printing is to be accomplished, a film gate for holding the three films in close relation to each other and in close relation to the aperture, driving means for driving the three films past the aperture engaging a portion of the films having a predetermined relation to the images on the negative film, a single perforation in the negative film having a predetermined relation to the position of the film portion to be engaged by the driving means, and a removable aligning pin adjacent said aperture having such relation to the driving means that insertion thereof in said perforation insures initial registration of the driving means with the specified film portion.

3. In a machine for simultaneously printing images fro-m two negative cinematograph films upon a positive filmv in which the im ages from the two negatives are to be printed upon the positive in a predetermined relation to each other, a printing aperture through which the printing is to be accomplished, a film gate for holding the three films in close relation to each other and in close relation to the aperture, driving means for driving the three films past the aperture engaging a portion of the films having a predetermined relation to the images on the negative film, a perforation in the negative film having a predetermined relation to the position of the film portion to be engaged by the driving means, an aligning pin adjacent said aperture having such relation to the driving means that insertion thereof in said perforation insures registration of the driving means with the specified film portion, and means operable upon closing the film gate for removing the pin from the perforations.

4. In a machine. for printing two superposed images upon a positive film from a pair of negative films, a light aperture past which the negative films with the positive film therebetween may pass, a pair of light sources arranged to project light in a plane parallel to the plane of said aperture, a deflecting means for deflecting light from one of said sources to pass the same transversely through said aperture from one side thereof, a second deflecting means for deflecting light from said other source transversely through said aperture from the opposite side thereof, and means mounting one of said deflecting means for movement relative to said aperture to free said aperture for ready threading of said films past said aperture.

5; In a machine for printing two superposed images upon a positive film from a pair of negative films, a light aperture past which the negative films with the positive film therebetween may pass, a film gate associated with said aperture for holding saidfilm flat relative to said aperture, a pair of light sources arranged to project light in a plane parallel to the plane of said aperture, a defleeting means for deflecting light from one of said sources to pass the same transversely 

